MCHENRY COPS HAVE HEART IN RIGHT PLACE

Barbara Church. Special to the TribuneCHICAGO TRIBUNE

By the end of the month, McHenry police officers will have been trained on how to employ a portable version of the defibrillators doctors and paramedics use to shock a cardiac arrest patient's heart back into rhythm.

McHenry's new police chief, Michael Kostecki, said he wanted to make sure his officers knew how to use the Automated External Defibrillators because squad cars are often the first to arrive at emergencies where defibrillators are needed. Kostecki had recently been with the Addison Police Department, which received the equipment this past spring.

"We're in the process of working with the McHenry Township Fire Protection District to determine what type of first-aid equipment the officers should be carrying in their cars and making sure all of the department is trained," Kostecki said.

Kostecki does not know if the department will acquire the devices, which typically cost around $3,000. However, his plan follows the goal of the American Heart Association, which is campaigning nationally to get the portable defibrillators in public places and train people how to use them.

This summer, O'Hare International and Midway Airports became the first airports in the nation to make defibrillators publicly accessible by installing them in locations that allow passersby--not just medical personnel--to use them to save lives. However, people should be trained before using the devices.

In 1997, the Downers Grove Police Department became the first police department in the state to equip all its squad cars with the portable defibrillators.

"When you have an emergency, often the first person who arrives on the scene is a police officer," said Karen Trannel, a spokeswoman for the Heart Association. "For every minute that passes without defibrillation, your chance of survival decreases by 10 percent."

The portable defibrillator is about as big as a laptop computer. Pads are applied to the chest of a person who may be having a heart attack, and a monitor indicates whether an electrical stimuli or shock is necessary to return the heart to a corrected electrical rhythm.

The device is equipped with a computer-animated voice that gives step-by-step instructions. The computer senses an individual's heart rhythm and will only administer a shock when used on a person who has suffered cardiac arrest.

Manual defibrillators, which are used by paramedics with most of the county's fire departments, require a trained person to make an assessment whether a patient needs to be defibrillated.

Kostecki believes McHenry is the first police department in the county to be trained on the portable defibrillators. McHenry Patrol Officer Tom O'Meara said he wouldn't have thought to even ask if a portable defibrillator was present at an emergency.

"One of the first questions I'll ask is if there is an AED available," O'Meara said. "The equipment's inner voice makes the tool so easy to use. I'd have a lot of confidence using this piece of equipment now that I've been trained."

While non-medical personnel typically trained to use the portable defibrillators include police, flight attendants, security guards and firefighters, more companies are looking into purchasing the devices and training employees to use them.

Linda Fraley, health and safety coordinator for Sage Products Inc. in Crystal Lake, said the company has one automated defibrillator and has trained nearly 20 staff members.

Scot Forge Co. in Spring Grove is acquiring the device. Company President Jim McKinley read about the value of the device and thought that adding the defibrillator to his workplace was something that would help employees.

"We are a company that does heavy manufacturing, by forging steel at a temperature of 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit. That's a lot of heat and stress in our workplace," McKinley said. "About 15 years ago an employee at our Cicero plant died of a heart attack. That was hard on everyone. We're willing to do anything we can to prevent a similar situation."

Recent modifications to Illinois legislation may spur the interest of other companies in obtaining similar equipment. Senate Bill 458, which was signed by Gov. George Ryan on Aug. 16, strengthens existing legislation and provides immunity from lawsuits to the person teaching a portable defibrillator course, the premise owner or occupant where the defibrillator is located, the physician overseeing its use and the trained user who responded to the emergency.